A SwanQueen Christmas
by ShadowDianne
Summary: Series of prompts I took during December regarding Christmas regarding prompts of our favourite ladies. Rating may vary from ficlet to ficlet.
1. Chapter 1

So Emma is a big believer of kissing under the mistletoe. On Christmas morning she and Regina happen upon a mistletoe but since it's still pretty early on their relationship, she can't just say: hey look there's a mistletoe, we should kiss or something. Just some Christmas fluff with super awkward Emma and oblivious Regina basically.- Asked by natblidass via tumblr

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The early grey light of December danced on top of Regina's kitchen, dancing merrily against the white surface of the former queen's counter. Emma, however, didn't pay any attention to the snowflakes that melted at the other side of the windows nor the shadows they created on the floor as they fell and, instead, took a bite of the already half-eaten Christmas cookie she had on her left hand, the other nursing an almost empty coffee mug. Sighing wishfully, she licked the frosting out of her lips, turning towards the door that connected the main hall to the kitchen already thinking on going up and wake the mayor herself up. Her eyes though bulged out and the piece of cookie almost choke her as she saw what she had before been far too sleepy to realize when she had come down from the master bedroom.

Mistletoe. There, hanging from the doorframe and looking innocently back at her, the green and pointy leaves of the mistletoe actually shone under the light that suddenly seemed warmer at her back. Swallowing thickly, she remembered her mother slurring something to her on the small dinner party Regina had begrudgingly accepted to host the night before on the mansion; the alcohol consumption and far too many tales Emma would have preferred to never know about her parents having done their apparition through the night.

Snow had been a few feet at Emma's right with a healthy glint on her eyes and cheeks already flustered due to the cider glass she hold between her hands. "I'm telling you." She had said with a little smile curving her lips as Emma drank beer, she herself distracted due to Regina's voice that kept floating from outside the kitchen. "Do something like that and you will have her falling even more in love with you."

"Mum…"

"I'm telling you! Your father adores it; I remember one time…"

Emma cringed at the memory of what had happened after that and returned to the present, her breakfast forgotten as she closed her eyes in sudden anger, the memory of Snow telling her to use mistletoe to kiss Regina the previous day suddenly appearing on her mind's eye.

"Regina is going to kill me." She thought frantically, looking around her, trying to find anything that would help her to remove the mistletoe away from the doorjamb. However, the second her mind provided her with the answer of "magic" an awaken Regina entered in the kitchen, eyes still half-closed and clothes Emma recognized at her own covering her body.

The sight itself made Emma's heart melt; the look of Regina wearing an oversized t-shirt making her feel giddy but the fear of having to explain herself to Regina prevailed over it.

They had been together for less than a month, Emma reasoned while looking to Regina, waiting for the other shoe to drop the moment the brunette looked above her head. They still needed to learn about each other, about the things they could do and the things they couldn't. Regina was still skittish expressing any kind of obvious display of them being together outside the safety of their houses and a kiss forced due to a stupid tale looked far too close to what they have been battling for the past few years for the blonde to feel completely sure Regina would be okay with it. Even though Emma kind of have had herself been waiting for something like that ever since she had been a teen.

So there she waited, eyes almost bulging out, a corner of her mouth still sporting white frosting and a slowly cooling cup of coffee on the counter where one single droplet of the beverage stained the otherwise spotless surface.

Regina, who had been yawning until then, awoken by the smell of coffee and the lack of her particular blonde-heater, smiled warmly at the younger woman before she noticed the look of absolute terror the woman sported. Her own eyes widened, fear already filling her stomach, her mind already listing the possible curses and problems Storybrooke could already be in.

"Emma? Something's wrong?" Her voice was still thick with sleep but it resonated strong enough in the room for the blonde to blink her fear away and shake her head. Licking her bottom lip Emma, eyed the mistletoe once again; Regina's head just right below it.

"Nothing, nothing." She replied hastily while turning to the coffee machine. Perhaps, she thought while she grabbed a cup for the brunette, if she kept Regina entertained enough she would be able to magic the damned thing out of the woman's house. "I'm still half-asleep and you startled me! Want…" She eyed the already filled mug on her hand and turned, smiling apologetically at Regina who was still in need to move away from the doorjamb, a fond expression filling her eyes.

Which, in itself, made Emma tremble; Regina was still careful and acted detached with her at any other given situation but those were the moments -when they were alone- when she was able to see the details the woman hide at any other time. Emma treasured those moments and for a moment she halted, noticing the curve of Regina's neck, on the way she seemed to hug herself around her t-shirt and pants, on the way she looked awake and still soft, still a far away version of the woman that she would present to the rest of the town in less than an hour.

"uh… some coffee?" She finished while shrugging unapologetically, still trying to find a way to make the brunette move away from the door. "I can prepare you something else if you want."

"No need dear." Regina beckoned Emma with a glance and the blonde approached the shorter woman with a raised brow, nervousness filling her. Regina smiled and kissed the woman's cheek before wiping Emma's lips clean with one swipe of her thumb.

"Happy Christmas dear." Emma blinked once, then twice, as she gaped, unable to speak.

Picking the coffee mug and giving a healthy sip from it Regina walked towards the counter, stealing the cookie from Emma as well and nodding to herself, happy to know that nothing was wrong.

Outside the snowflakes seemed to grow thicker, white already covering the streets.


	2. Chapter 2

E:Gina?! R: yes Dear? E: I think I just saw Rudolph (the red nosed reindeer) walking through our yard.  
Asked by italymistery-swanqueen via tumblr

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Emma snuggled happily against the warm body next to her, the eggnog that was still half-filling the glass she had just placed on the wood table in front of her and that she had been sipping before making her feel just the right kind of dizzy and tired. She kissed Regina's elbow as she circled her hands around the woman's waist in where the blanket the brunette had been used was now loosely resting. Chuckling, Regina placed a gentle hand on top of Emma's temple and kept reading, her own eggnog-filled glass placed at her left, carefully waiting for her.

"Tired?" The former queen whispered, playing with the blonde's hairs at the back of her neck, the feeling sending soft shivers down Emma's back.

Closing her eyes, the blonde breathed in what she had quickly associated to Regina's scent, her lips parting slightly in content.

"I thought they were never going to go." She finally admitted, thinking about her parents and how stubborn Snow had been to not leave until ever piece of cutlery was clean, dried and placed on its proper place once their weekly dinner was finished. "I love my mother but she can be…"

"Stubborn?" Regina replied while smirking ever so slightly. "I think it's a particular trait you've inherited from her dear."

Sticking her tongue out while moving her neck just a little in order to be more comfortable around the older woman, Emma kept her eyes closed; blissfully comfortable. "I'm not like her." She whined, Regina's deep laugh making her sigh. "You're bad."

"The worst." The brunette confirmed, smirk still in place, hands creating lines alongside the blonde's soft tresses. "Sleep for a little if you want, I will wake you up."

The savior nodded once before snuggling just a little bit closer, her eyes opening just a silver as she wondered if she wanted to take another sip of the eggnog before taking that nap. Her train of thoughts, warm and slow due to the food she had eaten, halted however when she saw a shadow prancing around outside the window that linked the study with the brunette's backyard.

"Regina?" She said, her voice thick and deep as she fought against the sleepy sensation, eyes widening as she forced her arms to straighten her up.

"Yes, dear?" The brunette replied while moving to her left, not even bothering to look up from her book.

"I think I just saw Rudolph walking through the yard…?"

The sentence was almost said as a question and as Emma pointed at the window she narrowed her eyes, trying to distinguish again the now gone shadow she had seen a few seconds before. The yard, however, was deserted and so she rose from the sofa hastily, the blanket that had been until then around Regina's waist getting trap on her left foot and thus making her stumble.

"I just saw it! It was… it had a red… it glowed!" Turning towards Regina Emma raised her hands above her head, sleep already forgotten. "Didn't you see it?"

Regina looked back at her once before raising her hand, magicking the blanket around her once again before she answered to the still agitated blonde. "Henry used to feed him back when he was little." She replied, a soft flash crossing through her eyes at the memories of a toddler Henry carefully placing treats in front of the gentle reindeer. "He is too old for that now but Rudolph still comes."

"But… how?" Emma spluttered, turning towards the window, almost sure she had seen the reindeer once again.

Regina looked at her over her book, one brow raised as she spoke. "You are in front of the Evil Queen; do you really need to ask?"

"Former Evil Queen." Emma pouted, seating next to Regina while carefully eyeing the window from the corner of her eyes.

"Former." Regina agreed, placing a soft kiss on Emma's lips. "And now let me read dear, I think I'm about to discover who the murderer is."


	3. Chapter 3

Henry wants to spend christmas with both his moms at the mansion, so Regina decides Emma can stay in the guestroom, however she never ends up in the guestroom asked by glsswrks via tumblr

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"I've already put sheets here so… you don't need to worry about anything."

"Right."

The two women looked at each other, both of them leaning on their own respecting doorjambs as the lights at the corridor titillated softly due to the heavy blizzard that seemed to have decided to take residence on Storybrooke that night. Emma fiddled with the hem of her shirt as she looked at the brunette, eyes trained on some point between Regina and herself, cheeks painted red and flushed.

Regina, on her part, toyed with the pendant at her neck, her fingers grazing her collarbones as she played with the cord, unsure of what else to say, on what else to do. The movement called Emma's attention and for a moment the brunette felt her gaze, burning, before the blonde nibbled her bottom lip and looked away, hands falling at both sides of the younger woman, eyes glowing.

It had happened well after Henry had grunted something close to a goodbye, already too old for goodnight kisses. Once all the food that hadn't been eaten had been stored away the two of them had seated at the brunette's sofa, glasses in hands and soft smiles spreading over mumbled stories and secrets over Henry's early years, over Emma's adventures, over tiny nothings as the first snowflakes had started to fell at the other side of the window, painting grey in the black sky.

Regina hadn't known when it had been the moment she had laughed so hard she had just thrown her head backwards, her temple colliding with Emma's shoulder -when they had gotten so close?- making both of them gasp between quiet, bubbling laughs that had ended with her resting her head fully on the blonde's shoulder, her weight shifting so she could just enjoy the planes and curves of the younger body, glass still between her fingers, her thumb caressing the slippery surface as Emma's voice kept lulling her, calming her nerves.

It had been a long set of months, that's what she had said to herself a second before losing conscience, falling into dreams that spoke about warmth and home, about magic and laughter, about family and… Emma.

Emma, who had woken her by kissing her temple, touch just as light as a feather. Emma, whose neck had felt warm and soft under her fingers as she, still half-asleep, had closed the gap between them, kissing those lips she had been dreaming about, a soft sigh escaping them before Emma had pulled away, blush already spreading, eyes as green as ever and the trace of her lipstick tracing the edges of her mouth, lines Regina had realized she wanted to follow with her nails before kissing them again. And again.

Emma, who had bolted, straightening herself before offering her her hands, a piece offering that had tasted ashen on Regina's lips and tongue, her dreams already fading, her own blush curling at the back of her ears.

"I'm sorry." She had said and Emma had smiled that soft smile, hands at her back pockets, she had caught herself wanting to kiss it again.

But she hadn't and so there were they; peering inside the guest room as if afraid of what could be inside, afraid of what could happen if they gave any thought on wat had just happened on, what they had felt.

It was Regina the first one who smiled tight-lipped before pushing herself away from the doorjamb, hands clutching now her forearms, squeezing them as tightly as she could while she turned to leave, ready to take the remaining alcohol with her and fall into a numbing sleep. It was Emma though the one who followed her steps, hand already at her cheek, warm and soft, as she tucked a lock of the brunette's hair behind her ear.

"I always liked it when you had it short." She commented, smile returning to her lips, curving them, almost like a secret no one but them could share. And Regina melted.

She melted the moment Emma took a shaky breath and closed the distance, their shoulders brushing the wall as Emma pushed her against it, ever so tender, ever so slow, letting her decide, letting her move.

She didn't move however, not wanting to ruin or change a thing, her own hands already climbing up Emma's shoulders, locking themselves behind the younger woman's neck, brushing the soft hairs that grew there. The caress made Emma narrow her eyes as she bit her bottom lip, one last word escaping her mouth before she moved forward, leg between Regina's, hand still cupping her cheek, the other at her waist, burning the brunette, scorching her flesh.

"Yes"

And there were many things they could have said in that moment but they didn't and as the snow and blizzard kept falling and howling outside Regina let out a soft sigh before pulling Emma as close as possible, hands now clutching the blonde's shirt, rumpling it as she arched her body into the blonde's touch, a purple mist covering them, their shadows the last thing that disappeared form the now deserted hall.

They never slept that night.


	4. Chapter 4

My prompt is merely a word: Thawn. By ryshai via tumblr

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"You should be sleeping" Regina's voice made Emma turn her head slightly upwards, her eyes following Regina's as the woman circled the chair the blonde was seated at as she handed a mug full of chocolate, the smell of cinnamon entering the younger woman's nostrils.

"So do you." Emma replied, taking the mug, her fingers circling the lid of the cup. Brown pupils followed the movement as the former queen seated next to the blonde as she perched herself at the chair's cushioned armrest, her own right hand curling at the base of the blonde's neck as she did so.

Regina hummed, refusing to answer as Emma took a sip of the chocolate, a warm flush spreading over her cheeks as the drink did its work. Looking away from Emma to the window the blonde had been staring at the moment she had descended from the bedroom Regina tilted her head, looking at the the snow that already covered a good portion of the road in front of the mansion, its glow looking almost silver under the moonlight.

Still with her hand curled around the blonde's neck, Regina closed her eyes, feeling the blonde's calm breathing at her side as well as she felt the softness of the jumper the blonde was wearing grazing the underside of her wrist.

"Another nightmare?" She finally asked, not daring to open her eyes or raise her voice. Emma didn't answer at first and it was only a small nod against her fingers what gave Regina the answer she already had known.

It had been months since the last time one of them had awoken with the echoes of screams ringing on their ears. Sometimes it was Regina, some other times it was Emma, some other times they woke each other up, fear on their eyes as the dream still was present, far too present on their minds. Sometimes Emma dreamt about heartless shadows leaving her alone, leaving her trapped, some other times it was Regina the one dreaming about fear and loss and rejection.

"They are getting better though." Emma finally answered, her voice soft and deep, slightly rough perhaps, the smell of cinnamon circling them as Regina opened her eyes again, the snow still glinting, still seeming to be looking back at the two of them. "I didn't want to wake you." The blonde continued, her tongue peeking between her lips as Regina turned to look at her, tugging softly a strand of the blonde's hair, interlacing her fingers with the woman's locks.

"You could have." The brunette replied, eyes full and dark as Emma raised her eyes to her once again, her own cloudy, flecks of blue swirling inside sparkling green.

She wasn't reproaching her and the two of them knew it but still Emma sighed and nodded silently, closing her own eyes and resting her weight against Regina's, her head against the brunette's hand, the slowly cooling mug settled at her lap, being held by her hands.

A clinking sound filled the silence as Emma grabbed the mug more firmly, the ring around her finger seeming to glow as she brought the mug to her lips under Regina's soft gaze.

"Let's go to sleep." The savior said, opening her eyes again, a soft smile touching her lip, curving them under Regina's scrutinizing gaze. "Both of us."

The mug was left behind, the chocolate slowly cooling away as Emma curled her body around Regina's, her head resting against the brunette's collarbone, the older woman's breathing lulling Emma into sleep as Regina caressed her back until she, too, fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

R and E date night to see the display of Christmas lights, drink hot chocolate, and ice skate... but Emma doesn't know how!.  
Asked by Anon via Tumblr

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"Ouch, it burns!"

Regina laughed softly as she plucked the to-go Styrofoam cup the two of them had brought at Granny's out of Emma's hands, the blonde looking slyly at it.

"Of course it does." She replied softly, magicking it away. "And of course you needed to take a sip before anything else."

Emma stuck out her tongue, as Regina turned to walk across the main road of Storybrooke, black boots leaving behind a trail of footsteps where the snow that had been relentlessly falling covered them as quick as she made them with small, slowly melting dots. The blonde chuckled and followed her, sneaking her arms below hers, interlacing her fingers with the ones covered by gloves of the older woman.

Regina huffed but didn't move away from the contact. Glancing at the blonde's at her side she chuckled one more time before filling her chest with the crisp winter air, the lights several establishments had put tinting the white snow with their hues, the reflection of greens, reds and the occasional blue glinting as well on Emma's eyes, just specks Regina leaned closer, if only for a second, before looking away.

The blonde smiled softly at that and released her hold in the brunette, walking side by side but not touching her, hands deeply hidden on her jacket's pockets as she glanced at the other woman through the corner of her eye, her teeth probing the spot the chocolate had burnt as she walked, as she looked, the figure of the former Queen walking down Storybrooke alongside with her.

Regina felt the eyes of Emma but didn't say anything about them, her nerves getting the best of her, making her feel far much younger than she truly was. Her hands fell limply at her side as she stopped, turning and looking at the blonde, her lips pursed and eyes narrowed while Emma also stopped in the middle of the road, her own hand outstretched, as if about to take those hands within hers once again.

And they had needed so much time, Regina reflected, the snow covering almost every other sound but her own breathing, they had needed so many pauses and fears that when Emma had asked if she had wanted to have a walk that very same day she hadn't know what to say, what to expect. Perhaps, she thought as she looked at Emma's eyes, at the way the blonde looked patiently at her, with just a shadow of a soft smile curving the edges of her lips, she really didn't need to expect, or to think if there was a good way. With Emma it has never been like that. Not really.

Smiling ever so slightly she took that one final step closer, her breath now mingling with Emma even if the two of them really truly didn't touch. The blonde's noise felt frigid up so close and Regina felt the need to kiss it, only to stir up Emma.

"Let me show you a thing we did back in the Enchanted Forest." She whispered, Emma's sharp intake of breath curving her own lips upwards.

"Okay."

And suddenly the two of them were in the middle of Storybrooke's ice ring with Emma stumbling before effectively grabbing into Regina's arm.

They had never needed to be perfect, Regina thought, one arm supporting Emma, the other one magicking ice-skates for the two of them. But they had never needed to be where they were. Or who they were.

And that, she found while laughing as Emma proved to be completely unable to support herself in the skates, was what truly mattered.


	6. Chapter 6

Traditional wrapping gifts way vs magical way by the lovely italymystery-swanqueen via tumblr!

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Emma closed the main door, successfully managing to leave the few snowflakes that had started to fall earlier that afternoon outside the warm hall. Smiling to herself while putting the keys back at her back pocket she entered at the living room where both Regina and Henry were already finishing the last touches of the Christmas tree. Ruffling the boy's hair and kissing the brunette's cheek she shrugged off the jacket she had been wearing until then, Regina's soft but pointed clearing of throat making her roll her eyes before leaving it as gently as possible on top of one of the chair's back before turning towards the almost finished tree, a glint on her green eyes at the sight of it.

It still amazed her, Emma reflected, looking at the warm-colored designs of the decorations that covered the branches from the very top of it to its feet, how at ease things like made her feel. How at home she truly felt. Even if it had already been a year since Regina had posed her the question she herself had been dying to ask and which she had been toying for almost too long to remember it still made her pause whenever she realized that what she was seeing, in fact, was real. And hers.

"We were waiting for you but mom told me that you needed to help grandma with her gifts." Henry said dutifully, breaking her reverie as he put what was left of the ornaments in a cardboard box.

"Yes, she wants me to help her pick up something to David or something…" Emma replied before shrugging it off, glancing at Regina who was already picking the jacket from the chair's while staring at her with mirth-filled eyes. "What?" She mouthed, eliciting a chuckle from the older woman. "Speaking of which, I actually wanted to ask you if you could do me a favor." She said with a sigh. Approaching where the brunette stood she grabbed the jacket from her hands and moved it away, smiling for a moment at Regina's stare before turning serious; a shy look dancing on her eyes as she did so. "I know I told you that I had the presents finished but there are still Neal's to wrap and since I will probably be with my mother the whole afternoon I was wondering if you could finish them?"

Waiting for Regina's answer she almost didn't hear Henry's snort behind the two of them but at Regina's suddenly mortified glance and a second snort the blonde turned and looked at Henry, the boy -now slightly taller than her- smiling slightly at the two of them before he realized he had indeed been heard.

"What I meant was," Said the teen smiling cheekily at both of his mothers. "Wouldn't be faster for you to learn how to do them by magic?"

The boy and his relationship with magic had certainly shifted ever since the Queen had been defeated but the question itself made Emma pause before she looked at Regina, half expecting to see in the brunette's pupils something that answered the boy's sentence. However, instead of that she saw a blush already dusting the older woman's cheeks before Regina sighed as deeply as possible, Henry's snickers ricocheting through the air between them.

"What our son is trying to say," Regina finally spoke, ironing an invisible wrinkle from Emma's shoulders, her hands feeling warm against the blonde's clothed body. "Is that I'm not exactly good at wrapping."

Emma blinked at the information, her hands closing around Regina's forearms before turning to look at the boy who merely shrugged once before sitting at the couch, picking up his phone on the way to it.

"But last Christmas…" She started, remembering the party her parents had had in the too far small apartment. It had been a month ever since Regina had blurted out her feelings for Regina and she remembered herself being so wound up she had almost being unable to say anything but "wow" when the beautiful woman had appeared in the front door but the sight of the perfectly wrapped up gifts were still clear enough on her mind's eye that the idea of them being not traditionally done was simply atrocious.

"Magic." Regina replied with something close to a huff. "Is not that I'm awful." She declared, staring pointedly at Henry who arced a brown of his own, a gesture so similar to Regina Emma found herself smiling slightly. "But I don't have the patience for it… Wait, what are you doing?"

Emma finished writing on her phone before blocking it and placing it atop of the small table near Henry's feet, a smile already parting her lips. "Telling my mother that she can pick Ashley to go gift-hunting. I'm going to teach you how to wrap!"

-.-

Half an hour later, a complete set of growls, kisses and two "Moms, that's gross!" Emma had discovered that what Regina had told her was true: The woman wasn't a disaster like the blonde herself was in more than a couple of things; She merely wasn't able to hold her attention long enough in the wrapping. Something so much like the blonde herself that Emma laughed at Regina's attempts to put the ribbon on one of the last gifts they had needed to wrap before the paper was properly put where it should.

Smiling at Regina and just before whispering a few ideas of how they could use the ribbon once Henry was asleep. "I'm awake and here!" Emma finished the gifts and chuckled, grabbing Regina's hand and intertwining her fingers with the older woman's as the brunette whispered of how she really preferred the magical way just fine.

"For what I'm thinking you also prefer to do it in the magical way? Because that would…."

"MOMS!"


	7. Chapter 7

Emma and Regina are leaving to the Charmings and they are supposed to wear the christmas sweaters Snow has made them. Regina doesn't quite agree: "I'm a Queen and a bit more refined." By chocolatemilkqueendom bia tumblr

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Regina glanced at her wristwatch for what felt the umpteenth time in less than five minutes and glared at the stairs as she heard the rustling of two pair of feet running down the upper hallway.

"If I need to apologize to your mother for being late…" She started at the precise moment Emma's face appeared at the top of the stairs sporting a dazzling smile with Henry in tow.

"We won't, we won't." Emma said as she descended the stairs, her hands caressing Regina's cheeks before she pecked her lips as Henry, seeming to mutter something that could have been "Moms!" followed her with his hair still humid from the shower.

Regina looked at the two of them before grinning, unable to stay mad at them even though she glanced pointedly at her watch once she replied to the blonde's kiss with one of her own, her thumb quickly grazing the blonde's lips in order to erase the trace of red her lipstick had left behind. "Still, I think I told you both more than twenty minutes ago that I wanted you both ready in ten."

"And since we knew you were telling us that so we weren't late we did everything in fifteen!" Replied Henry, as he stopped in front of the two of them as tall now as his blonde mother. His hands were trying to smooth the creases at his jeans while he smiled boyishly at Regina.

"Keep speaking like that, young man, and we will be talking about your new video games."

Henry's mouth opened in protest but Emma shook her head out of Regina's peripheral vision making him sigh and nod before he pointed at the black dress the brunette woman wore. "Mom, grandma said that she wanted us to wear her sweaters…"

Regina looked down at herself before glancing back at Henry. The boy was indeed wearing the hideous blue and grey thing Snow had tried to pass as a Christmas gift and Emma had the red nightmare she had tried to smile at the second she had opened the gift at Granny's dinner on top of one of her skin-tight jeans.

"I think I made perfectly clear what I thought about that sweater." She replied in a huff. Emma laughed quietly at her side and rose her brows the second Regina looked at her.

"My mother asked it!" The blonde said while at her own sweater. The color was a mix between what could have been considered deep red and salmon and the brunette couldn't exactly pin point what Snow had tried to symbolize or even do with that one. "You know she did."

Regina rose one single brow as an answer and shook her head, standing as tall as she was as she looked at both Henry and Emma whose amused -yet exasperated-faces stared back at her. The brunette knew that she was being unreasonable but she pursed her lips into a fine line. "I'm a Queen and a little more refined than a sweater that seems to have been dipped in bleach before being re-painted by a blind fairy."

The line alone made Henry snort and Emma laugh as she rose her hands, the tingling of her magic ringing on Regina's ears before she felt the blonde's power moving around her, the telling signs of a spell dancing atop of her skin a second before the hideous black and white sweater Snow had knitted appeared on top of her dress.

"I know you are." Said the blonde before kissing Regina's temple as Henry guffawed. "But my mother is going to really turn all Evil Queen on us if we don't appear with our sweaters on. And I promised my father that he wasn't going to suffer alone."

"Plus, she made a bet with Aunt Zelena!" Added Henry, the teen smirking when Emma shot him a warning look that wasn't fast enough for Regina to listen to it.

"Emma!"


	8. Chapter 8

Regina thinking she'll spend it alone but she finds little surprises all throughout Christmas & on Christmas Day Emma surprises her by showing up and telling her she's not alone. Asked by stepintomyworld via tumblr

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Regina looked at the small flower that has welcomed her when she had entered the office this morning and smiled despite of what her rational mind thought about the so called presents she had been receiving ever since the beginning of the month.

At first, she reflected while eyeing the petals of what seemed to be a simple violet, it had been things so minute she hadn't exactly realized that where there; simple notes wishing her a good day, small traits and flowers whenever she perhaps felt tired of the office hours… but with time they had become more elaborated and there wasn't a day in which she didn't receive a present or a detail specifically for her waiting at either at the office or at the main door of the mansion.

She, of course, had immediately thought about Henry. The teen had been with Violet quite a lot and she had suspected that he was probably either trying to assuage his guilt or trying to ease her up before asking her for something just slightly out of the ordinary- And being so close to Christmas she suspected it was probably the second option- but after talking about it over breakfast and receiving a small look full of confusion she had decided that the boy wasn't involved on what was happening at all. That or that he had developed even greater skills at lying and deceiving.

Which had left her back at square one with more small surprises than ever and a smile she couldn't hold back or hide anymore whenever she saw them. The flower had been perhaps the simplest one in weeks and still, the note that had been attached to it had been what had made impossible for her to look at anything but that ever since.

"You are amazing. Even when you don't think so. Even when you think you can't be. You are."

Which, if Regina thought about it, said already far too much about what this mysterious person knew about her. But a part of her didn't want to think about it.

Sighing slightly before shaking her head and standing in front of her desk the former queen caressed the flower's petals one more time before letting the flower float atop the desk's surface, brown eyes following the movement intently. At her back the cold breeze that had been running over Storybrooke ever since the month had started only seemed stronger against the branches of the trees visible through the office's windows and the woman shuddered even at the other side of the wall, her eyes never leaving the flower until it touched the wood.

It had been a thought that had entered her mind a few weeks ago while looking at Henry as the boy stammered and blushed while he offered Violet some kind of Christmas candy the girl had been happy to eat. He, suddenly, had felt far too tall for the image she still had of the 10-year-old who thought of magic and powers in black and white, the boy, stubborn but strong, she had loved so much. The boy she still adored but who, perhaps, was starting to get to tall, too old, for the visions she still had of him, of the memories she sometimes clung into whenever magic and power became a storm far too strong inside of her. Whenever the new villain appeared and with it ever trace of normalcy was gone.

So she had been thinking about loneliness for perhaps too much this past month, whenever she drank some of her morning coffee at Granny's, whenever she felt the silence too deafening, the moments far too slow.

However, she hadn't shared the feeling with anyone, not wanting to receive a lecture from Snow about happiness and family and all those things she believed in, yes, but not in the same way the Charming duet did. And so the days had passed and the presents had arrived with new notes attached to them. Always in the simplest paper possible with some handwriting she wasn't able to pinpoint, or perhaps yes, perhaps she could but didn't want to. Sometimes the notes seemed to burnt into her skin, the truths written there far too real for her liking. Some other times she rejected them, thinking that perhaps she needed to cast a spell and discover who the sender was.

The later idea, as tempting as it was, also didn't really take root into her brain. There was something in having a secret admirer that the younger woman she had once been felt touched from someplace within her. So she waited and looked at the notes, sometimes scolding at them, some other times treasuring them.

Today, however, she clung to it; something strange seeming to seep out of the note, something that seemed far too close of a promise the brunette didn't know how to read. Or understand.

It was Christmas Eve after all, she reasoned with herself as she walked towards the window, the air outside so cold her breath seemed to halt for a second at the window's glass before dissipating once again. And in Christmas Eve everything seemed more ominous than it really was.

Both Henry and herself were expected at the Charming's household later in the evening with enough presents to raise an army for the young Neal and with enough eggnog already there to, maybe, dissipate the feeling of loneliness away from the time being. Or at least damp it up.

Thing was, she thought as she glanced at the clock that stood at one of the edges of the desk, the sharp clock hands glinting under the studio's lights, she already felt the feeling devouring her up, spitting her and painting inside her mind pictures of the future in which she would truly be alone. A rather stupid thought, she knew, a debilitating one, but it had always been floating just about her reach inside her mind; the fear of simply being alone, being away from the people she, sometimes reluctantly, had learnt to care about.

Like Snow, or David.

Or Emma.

The note in front of her seemed to scorch her eyes even stronger than before as she thought of the green-eyed blonde, the one she had despised until hate had transformed itself into something she had felt shuddering when the woman had said she saw Regina as a friend, something that had morphed as the blonde kept fighting to reach her even when no one else thought it could be possible, someone that truly trust her no matter which realm, which reality the two of them they were both in.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying and failing to shake her out of her own thoughts, of every single one of them.

However, as the scrabbling on the notes became clear on her mind's eye and a soft gasp of realization run over her the door of the office opened, the sound of a very particular voice gently seeping in:

"Can I come in?"

And Regina realized that, indeed, she had already let the blonde enter far too long ago to even try to point it out then. Or even care.

"Yes." She answered, eyes soft and glinting and the note burning away, the ashes floating between her fingers as she stared at the soft, soft and glinting, irises of the younger woman that stared back at her, one single question floating in them, written in ink and paper as much as they didn't.

"Did you get my notes?"

And the answer could only be one: "Yes."

Because, in some mysterious way she truly didn't understood, along the way, between the death traps and the villains and the perils she had fallen in love with the woman that now stood in front of her, blushing and playing with the hem of her shirt, slim fingers playing over the same patch of fabric over and over again.

"I did."


	9. Chapter 9

"Eggnog" asked by italymysteryswanqueen via tumblr

"Smells good"

Emma's sleepy voice startled Regina as the blonde's arms sneaked around the brunette's midriff; gentle fingers digging at the older woman's waist as the savior kissed the former queen's cheek sloppily. The brunette, who hadn't moved an inch, relaxed against Emma's chest, a gentle laugh escaping her lips while the eggnog she had been preparing brewed softly in front of the two of them.

"You should already be readying yourself." The former queen admonished, glancing at the kitchen's clock ominously before tilting her head enough to kiss the blonde's cheekbone. Emma hummed once before making a face in distaste, perfectly aware of the late hour. "Emma…" Regina's voice elicited a sigh from the younger woman as she moved away from the brunette's back, the loss of contact making the older woman be the one sighing ever so slightly before focusing once again on what she had in front of her.

Every year the two of them had a similar discussion and every year the two of them knew already that Emma wasn't going to be late and that the blonde really shouldn't have overslept after the late and somehow quick-made meal of New Year's Eve that either the blonde or the brunette prepared after an even lazier morning, a morning they normally prepared for only the two of them. Still, Regina always worried about the late hour and Emma always took that nap.

"I know; I shouldn't have taken the nap." The blonde finished, sitting at the edge of the counter, her eyes glancing at the food displayed there. "Someone is a little nervous?"

Regina glanced quickly at the blonde before swiping her fingers atop the lid of the pot; the eggnog glinting before readying itself with the aid of the brunette's magic.

"This is not my first Yule celebration with your parents." The former queen finally replied, her voice much more high-pitched than usual. "I'm perfectly calm."

Which she wasn't but neither Emma nor Regina herself really wanted to go there.

"Sure you are." The savior answered while holding her hands up in the air, feigning surrender. Huffing, the brunette pointed at the stairs that could be seen through the half-closed kitchen door.

"Go and dress up, miss Swan. Sometimes I wonder if Henry is really the teenager here or not."

Pouting ever so slightly the younger woman approached the brunette before licking away a drop of eggnog that had jumped out of the pot to the brunette's cheek. "Tasty…" She whispered before jumping towards the door before Regina could ever try to smack her. "I'm going, I'm going!"

Regina chuckled at the now empty kitchen before turning back to the now in need of cleaning pot.

"You are impossible." She murmured, a roar of laughter echoing through all the house before Emma's disembodied voice was heard "I heard that! And I love you too!"

"Moms!"

* * *

A/N At the beginning of the month I opened my inbox to all Christmas related prompts so I could create a sort of series like I already did during this October and the last one regarding Halloween themed ones. With the month expired this is now closed (But who knows what can happen the next christmas, right? ;)) It has been a pleasure to answer them all and I'm always open to more little prompts! You can find me on my tumblr, reblogging and writing to my little heart's content and for the lovers of angst like myself don't fret because I already have new things prepared for our favorite ladies ;)  
Happy Holidays to all of you and Happy New year! (2017 We are watching you!)


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